Mayor demands new recycling centre for Enfield

Ken Livingstone has issued a formal direction – his second ever in the field of waste – that requires the borough build a replacement household waste recycling centre after selling off the Carterhatch Lane site.

As part of his municipal waste strategy, Mr Livingstone has said he wants over 300 new recycling facilities built to help London become more self-sufficient in its management of waste.

The decision of Enfield to sell off its recycling centre has angered the Mayor, but Mr Livingstone said his latest demand followed the break down of talks that have been going on for months.

Mayor
Mr Livingstone said: “I have decided to issue a direction to Enfield council in order that they fully consider the importance of providing adequate recycling facilities in the borough. This is not a step that I have taken lightly and follows many months of extensive dialogue with the council.”

“I am extremely disappointed that Enfield continues in its refusal to deal responsibly with its waste by replacing the recycling facility at Carterhatch Lane.

“London needs more recycling facilities if we are to become self-sufficient in the management of our waste so boroughs cannot afford to be complacent about the need to recycle more. Councils must ensure that residents are able to dispose of their waste in a sustainable and convenient way,” Mr Livingstone said.

Borough
The London borough of Enfield has said its civic amenity site Carterhatch Lane was surplus to requirements, since its other, larger recycling centre at Barrowell Green is still not running at full capacity.

A spokesman for Enfield said the site at Carterhatch Lane was used by less than half the number of people it could have been before it was closed last October. As a result, he said a second recycling centre was “unnecessary” at present.

The council spokesman said that Enfield officers are now seeking advice regarding a judicial review on whether they can refuse the Mayor's demand.

Enfield offers a green and black box collection service to 95% of its households – around 104,000 homes. A community-run recycling service is also available in 208 estates. The borough achieved a recycling rate of just under 24% in 2004/05.

The council spokesman said: “We have a massive recycling campaign on at the moment, we are collecting door-to-door and our recycling rate is in the top five for London. We completely and utterly disagree with the Mayor on this matter.”

The only other time the Mayor of London has issued a formal direction regarding waste issues was when the West London Waste Authority was ordered to develop a waste strategy (see letsrecycle.com story).